A standard wall rod for a hand shower comprises upper and lower brackets that are fixed to the vertical wall of the tub or shower enclosure, a vertical rod with upper and lower ends seated in the respective brackets, and a holder that can slide along and be secured at any location to the rod. The brackets are typically cylindrical, centered on horizontal axes, and of somewhat greater diameter than the rod which is also cylindrical but, of course, centered on an upright axis. The support has a fork or seat formation into which the hose end of the hand shower can be fitted to hold the shower at the desired height so it can be used like a stationary shower.
It is standard to provide an auxiliary soap dish, which may also serve to hold other bath accessories, on such a wall-rod assembly. Such a soap dish is typically a fairly flimsy structure that is easily damaged in use. Furthermore the known soap dishes for use with a hand-shower wall rod often are very difficult to clean and even make it hard to clean the wall behind them.